|
Reviews:
I really hate the state of the comic industry nowadays. Retailers and comic readers are complaining that our numbers is dwindling and there are no new "good" comics coming out. Actually, there are TONS of good comics out there right now. The problem is existing readers does not want to spend their hard earned money on something they have not tried while retailers (with the ever diminishing peso power against the dollar) cannot risk the small capital they are just re-cycling and order those "indie" books that might not sell....=(
One example of a book that EVERYONE should read is the very "kewl" and all-ages book NEOTOPIA. The book is about a servant who disguises as a princess upon the request of the real princess (coz the real princess is a prick and does not want to have anything to do with her royal responsibilties). Then one day, the stand-in princess was kidnapped by the evil neighboring kingdom coz they thought she was the real deal. With the help of her friends (a navigator dolphin, a pilot bat, a royal adviser bird, and a kid mecahnic), she was able to escape. However, the plan of the evil kingdom was not foiled since they are noe prepared to go to war and just take what they want. Now its up to the stand-in princess and her loyal friends to lead the battle against the invading army. I know the story seems a bit cliche but by-golly, there is still a feeling of freshness in Mr. Espinosa's execution.
As for the art, it is very similar to the sytle and color palette used by Studio Ghibli (of spirited away and princess mononoke fame). The art is VERY pleasing to the eye and easy to follow (although some of the fonts are a bit small to read). Aside from the pencils/colors, Espinosa has a great sense of design with the different costumes and ships in his book.
So If you or anybody you know likes Bone, Meridian or animation like Castle in the Sky or Spirited Away, this book is DEFINITELY for you!!! It is an all ages book that does not talk down to its young readers at the same time still enjoyable to the teens/adult audience. Plus the individual digest - about 180pages full color - only costs Php500 (from strange-haven.com) or about Php650 outside....you cannot get a better deal than this...=)
Trivia: If you don't know yet, Rod Espinosa is a true blue filipino - born in Manila and later moved on to the USA.
Other works:
Courageous Princess
|
